“Ang Huling El Bimbo” (AHEB) musical cast member Boo Gabunada recently responded to the abuse allegations made by former girlfriend theater actress Krystal Kane.
Gabunada, who portrayed the character of Emman in the musical that has a rape plot, posted two apology videos on his Twitter account addressing Kane’s allegations. He also denied that he is a rapist.
However, some of his fellow cast members responded to his video apology and claimed that he did not “acknowledge” and properly “apologize” to his former girlfriend.
Fellow AHEB cast members Bibo Reyes, Gab Pangilinan, Phi Palmos and Tanya Manalang expressed their disappointment in the Twitter thread, particularly in the second part of his video.
“I’m sorry I hurt you and there is nothing I can do to make up for it. I know that. I own up to that. You and I have had this conversation before. I’ve been seeing tweets on Twitter saying I’m a rapist. I’m not a rapist,” Gabunada said in the first part.
He went on to repeatedly claim that he was not a rapist and stated that while there were truths to Kane’s accusations he said he takes responsibility for, there were also “distorted truths” as well.
Gabunada added that he has “unlearned” his controlling behavior and recounted how Kane had reportedly acted the same during their relationship, claiming that she had also harassed and stalked him before.
“I’m so sorry. And if this means that people would want to cut ties with me, then I will face the consequences. But if you take anything from this, I am not a rapist,” he said in the second part.
Reyes, Pangilinan, Palmos and Manalang responded to his videos, as noted by some Twitter users.
Reyes, who played Hector in AHEB, commented: “No, Boo. I’m sorry man. This is for your own good.”
Pangilinan, who played the part of Joy, told Gabunada to approach the situation without fuss.
“Accept. Acknowledge. Apologize. Just those three, Boo. Nothing else. Please,” she wrote.
Palmos, who appeared in the musical as Anthony, said: “This doesn’t change anything Boo and I’m very sorry but you are just contradicting yourself. Clearly there was no acknowledgment here. And that is what’s needed here. I’m sorry but No.”
Manalang, who also played the part of Joy, said that Gabunada should not “invalidate” the individual’s trauma and feelings about the matter.
“I PM’d you last night saying I wouldn’t bail out on you as a friend. And as your friend, I’m telling it to your face: THIS AIN’T IT, Boo. Accountability and sincere apologies do not involve invalidating someone else’s feelings/trauma. ‘You did this, you did that.’ Hindi yun eh,” she wrote.
The allegations
Gabunada’s videos were uploaded after Kane, a cast member of “Tabing Ilog: The Musical,” revealed through Instagram TV, that the theater actor filmed their sexual encounters without her consent and policed her about selfies she would want to post during their relationship, among others.
She also took to Twitter and called him out following his videos, claiming that she had “confronted” him about everything in May after he “misdialed” her two times and texted her.
“Everything I said in the video, YOU heard it BEFORE anyone else did. I confronted you and gave you a chance to know what you did to me, to own up and apologize. You weren’t clueless, Boo. So don’t act like it. You KNEW what I had to say,” Kane added.
She also tweeted screenshots of her recent exchange with Gabunata.
In the first part of Kane’s videos on Instagram, she revealed that broadcaster Ben Tulfo‘s tweets about rape and women’s clothing urged her to open up about her own experiences in her past relationship.
Tulfo previously called out Frankie “Kakie” Pangilinan for her comments on the post where a police station told women to stop wearing provocative attires to supposedly avoid being raped.
Kakie pointed out that people should be taught not to rape instead of blaming it on the victim.
This led to the birth of #HijaAko movement on social media which protests against the notion of victim-blaming women in relation to sex crimes and harassment.
Following accusations against Gabunada, AHEB, a musical based on the songs of iconic band Eraserheads, made it to Twitter’s trending list anew.
Last month, AHEB also made an online buzz after it had a 48-hour online run.
ABS-CBN Entertainment Online live-streamed this musical on its Facebook page and YouTube channel for free to raise funds for COVID-19 relief efforts in cooperation.
The initiative was in cooperation with AHEB’s production team Full House Theater Company (FHTC), together with Resorts World Manila and ABS-CBN Foundation Pantawid ng Pag-ibig program.
The musical then earned both praises and jeers as it tackled sensitive issues such as rape and emotional abuse.
In view of this, some online users found recent accusations on Gabunada contradicting as his role played a friend who dealt with the “hardships of a rape victim.”